Connector

Abstract

A connector includes a housing that has a fitting chamber with an insertion opening for a flat conductor in the upper surface thereof and whose lower side is placed on a circuit board, a locking spring that locks the flat conductor, and an unlocking member. The locking spring is provided with a housing fixing portion, an elastic arm that is rotationally displaced about the housing fixing portion away from the flat conductor, an engaging piece that engages with a locking portion of a through-shape provided in the flat conductor, and a sliding contact portion that comes into oblique sliding contact with the unlocking member displaced by a pressing operation, rotates the elastic arm, and extracts the engaging piece from the locking portion.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A connector comprising:
 a housing that has a fitting chamber with an insertion opening for a flat conductor in the upper surface thereof and whose lower side is placed on a circuit board; 
 at least one locking spring that locks the flat conductor in the fitting chamber; and 
 an unlocking member that is displaced by a pressing operation toward the circuit board, 
 wherein the at least one locking spring has a fixing portion that is fixed to the housing, an elastic arm that is rotationally displaced about the fixing portion away from the flat conductor, an engaging piece that engages with a locking portion of a through-shape provided in the flat conductor, and a sliding contact portion that comes into oblique sliding contact with the unlocking member displaced by the pressing operation, rotates the elastic arm about the fixing portion away from the flat conductor, and extracts the engaging piece from the locking portion, 
 wherein the housing has at least one groove portion that is open to the outside of the housing and houses the at least one locking spring displaceably to the outside of the housing. 
 
     
     
       2. The connector according to  claim 1 , wherein the at least one locking spring has a flat plate shape. 
     
     
       3. The connector according to  claim 1 , wherein the at least one locking spring comprises a plurality of locking springs, and the plurality of locking springs are disposed at both ends in the width direction of the insertion opening. 
     
     
       4. The connector according to  claim 1 , wherein the sliding contact portion is an oblique edge formed in a protruding piece protruding obliquely from the distal end of the elastic arm. 
     
     
       5. The connector according to  claim 4 , wherein the engaging piece protrudes from the lower end of the oblique edge toward the fitting chamber. 
     
     
       6. The connector according to  claim 1 , wherein the unlocking member has at least one pressing operating surface on the upper surface side of the housing in which the insertion opening is open. 
     
     
       7. The connector according to  claim 6 , wherein the at least one pressing operating surface is located above the upper surface of the housing. 
     
     
       8. The connector according to  claim 6 , wherein the at least one pressing operating surface comprises a plurality of pressing operating surfaces, and the plurality of pressing operating surfaces are located at both ends in the longitudinal direction of the upper surface of the housing. 
     
     
       9. The connector according to  claim 6 , wherein the at least one pressing operating surface comprises a plurality of pressing operating surfaces, and the plurality of pressing operating surfaces are located so as to protrude to the side of both ends in the longitudinal direction of the upper surface of the housing. 
     
     
       10. The connector according to  claim 6 , wherein the at least one pressing operating surface is a flat surface. 
     
     
       11. The connector according to  claim 1 , wherein the unlocking member has a first pressing operation surface located at one longitudinal end of the upper surface of the housing, a second pressing operation surface located at the other longitudinal end of the upper surface of the housing, and a connecting portion bridged between the first and second pressing operation surfaces along the longitudinal direction of the upper surface of the housing. 
     
     
       12. The connector according to  claim 1 , wherein the at least one locking spring comprises a pair of locking springs, and the pair of locking springs are disposed at both ends of a row of terminals electrically connected to the flat conductor. 
     
     
       13. A connector comprising:
 a housing that has a fitting chamber with an insertion opening for a flat conductor in the upper surface thereof and whose lower side is placed on a circuit board; 
 at least one locking spring that locks the flat conductor in the fitting chamber; and 
 an unlocking member that is displaced by a pressing operation toward the circuit board, 
 wherein the at least one locking spring has a fixing portion that is fixed to the housing, an elastic arm that is rotationally displaced about the fixing portion away from the flat conductor, an engaging piece that engages with a locking portion of a through-shape provided in the flat conductor, and a sliding contact portion that comes into oblique sliding contact with the unlocking member displaced by the pressing operation, rotates the elastic arm about the fixing portion away from the flat conductor, and extracts the engaging piece from the locking portion, 
 wherein the unlocking member has an insertion portion through which the upper end of the elastic arm is passed, and, when the unlocking member is displaced by the pressing operation to a position where the engaging piece is extracted from the locking portion, the upper end of the elastic arm protrudes from the insertion portion.